Braves' late arrival has great first day

The left-hander, who is expected to push John Burkett for the fifth starter's job or win a spot in the bullpen, reported a day late after mixing up the reporting dates.

No matter. Perez spent much of the winter pitching in his native Dominican Republic, and he impressed manager Bobby Cox with his command and velocity Saturday morning.

"If the way he threw today is any indication, he's ready," Cox said.

Perez, who hasn't pitched in the majors since undergoing "Tommy John surgery" to replace the ligament in his left elbow in August 1999, admitted to feeling nervous when he returned to a mound for the first time this winter.

"After not pitching for 16 or 17 months, you're a little scared," he said. "(Plus), you have to be thinking it's 'Tommy John.' It's not like taking bone chips out. It's replacing a ligament. But after I made five or six starts, that's the time I said, 'I'm ready, I'm ready to go.' "

Perez showed he's back at full strength in the Dominican when radar guns clocked his fastball in the mid-90s. That has the Braves excited and prompted Cox to say the slender lefty "is one of the big factors" this spring in settling on an 11-man staff.

"I really didn't know if I'd be back here pitching again," Perez said. "I didn't know if it would be two years or three years. I didn't know whether it would be Mexico or Columbia or the minor leagues. But I'm back, and I'm very happy."

Helms adds depth

Even if Wes Helms wasn't out of options, he would probably make the club as a backup to third baseman Chipper Jones and first baseman Rico Brogna. The fact that he is out of options simply means his immediate future is assured with the Braves.

Helms, who signed with the Braves on Saturday, is too valuable to lose to another team on a waiver claim. He went to Venezuela this winter to work on his hitting and finished second in the league with nine home runs. He can play two positions and not hurt the team defensively. If he can adjust to a role off the bench, he could be a valuable addition.

"The way I look at it is, I'm still young," Helms said. "If in my first full season I play 50 games, that's OK. But by midseason, I want Bobby Cox to be saying, 'Helms needs to be playing more.' "

Helms is a third baseman, but with Jones signed to a long-term deal, his best option is learning to play first. He has some minor league experience there and suggested he's comfortable at either corner.

"I have confidence at third base, and I have the same confidence at first," he said. "I have all the confidence in the world I can be an everyday first baseman."

Chances are, Helms will give Jones an occasional rest and start at first base against left-handed pitchers, giving Brogna a day off.

Ex-Brave Bream recovers

Former Braves first baseman Sid Bream has recovered from thyroid cancer at his Pennsylvania home and reports doctors have given him a clean bill of health.

"I'm doing really well," he said. "My body is recovering, and my strength is coming back. All indications from my doctor are that everything is gone."

Bream was diagnosed with cancer last November and underwent radiation treatment. He has resumed delivering Christian motivational speeches and playing golf, and he plans to film a commercial for TBS celebrating the Braves' 10 years of greatness.

"My doctor said, 'You're cured,' " Bream said. "I've talked to a lot of people who had similar ordeals, and they've been living for a long time. I feel very confident and at peace with whatever happens, but I don't feel I'm going to die from it."